The mines of Gnoss were blackened with soot and remnants of other precious minerals that had sent up and down the mine carts the quarry above. As they traveled deeper into the caverns the air grew thinner, but moist from the underground pools of water that had been left from separating the soil from the walls of hard rock. This was one of the reasons that Myrrh ants were practically docile to mining workers so long as they didn’t attack first. The moist environment made it possible for them to grow their edible fungus that was their only source of food. Myrrh ants, like most animals, were only killed for defense or to feed their fungus farms, fitting that when they died their body returned to fungus again, many scholars thought.

When they approached the first cavern they came upon a peculiar sight along the trail of the tunnels, a metal door placed upon the wall of the shaft, with the mark of a black “X” upon it. Master Zoe rechecked her map to make sure this was the right location, and then folded it back up.

“Yup, this is the right place.” Zoe nodded her head.

“Ugh...finally.” Jason was practically heaving from wearing his full body gear throughout the trip here.

“It was you who insisted on wearing that gear Mr. Tilt.” She grabbed the gear Anthony was carrying. “Now you’ll have to wait until we get outside the cavern to take it off.”

“I know...why can’t...clean this...after we...out?” He breathed heavily in fractured sentences.

“Mines are hazardous for fine dust particles and combustible fumes that can be lit up with the finest spark.” Anthony helped Master Zoe get her gear one before putting on his own. “If she uses the same technique I saw that cleanse in these closed spaces it could end up destroying the whole shaft.”

“That means my powers are practically useless in these caves. Assuming all goes well, an experienced hunter like Bios should be enough to get us in and out as quickly as possible.” She put on a mask to cover her face. “That being said, trying not to light any sparks either, Bios.”

“We’re still working on that Master Zoe, if you recall.” He placed his mask on as well.

“Doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen with that fancy dagger of yours. We really don’t know what you’ve truly capable of, especially in places like this.” Anthony nodded his head as gabbed the wheel of the door handle.

“Alright, let the harvest begin.” Anthony turned the wheel and opened the door releasing the musty air from the inner sanctum of the new cavern.

It looked like the cavern before but with no rails for carts. Through the light of their crystals they kept side by their side so they could watch their step as they entered the inner cavern. The ground was littered with garbage thrown by miners who had no other use than to use this cavern as a trash hole for fear of the it’s residences. Anthony recalled when he hunted in a mind with a similar myrrh ant colony it was an unlucky person’s job to dump garbage into the place in a manner of minutes for fear of any ants might escape. Now, it was a matter of them climbing over those hills of rubbish to get to the caverns below. They treaded carefully trying not to slip on the broken wood, twisted steel and various other debris that made a makeshift stairs to the lower caverns. When they finally reach the bottom Master Zoe extended a small light stone to release a low ambient glow upon the caverns.

There amongst the opened and carved caverns of rock and earth they saw them scattered across the ground. Feet, antenna, limbs, various other appendage and moldy covered meat of black myrrh ants. Myrrh ants were a notorious health hazardous material aside from the valuable piece of shell, mandibles and stingers which were a prized commodity. Because nobody would complain about disposing of their bodies in essentially a trash heap cavern, the common practice was to leave them to rot in the dank catacombs which they sprung. Except for a few trophies that were meant for proof of conquest such as a mandible or a stinger.

“Looks like this fungus is barely spawning.” Master Zoe stretched her hand across the hall examining the white mold growing on the various pieces of body. “The spores should be more mature the deeper into the cavern. Tread gently or we might end up altering stragglers that might be wandering these caves.”

They walked slowly but deeper into the cavern, passing the remains of elder myrrh ants, some that had been cut into pieces so small they practically seeded the cavern with their obsidian glass luminance. Further down they found pinning or young mushrooms being born against the pieces of Myrrh Ants. A trail led them deeper into the catacombs until they came across a strange patch of fungus on top the head of a nearly complete black myrrh ant specimen.

“I found some!” Jason shouted beneath his mask. “Looks like about half a dozen full grown sprouts.” Jason places his light stone around the dead ant in its petrified state. “You could make about a shot of black cider with these beauties... Anti, could you give me some light over here?”

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Anthony did as instructed and moved his light stone behind his shoulder as he began to carefully pick and place the black mushrooms into a readied container.

“You mentioned Black Cider, isn’t that an illegal beverage in the Duchy?”

“Practically everything is these days.” Jason carefully picked the shrooms. “Still, if you know the right recipe it can hit you no harder than a pint of ale in a shot glass, very potent stuff. About as hard to make as Tandem or Angel Eyes but definitely the milder among the myrrh fungus variety.”

Anthony didn’t know how he was so knowledgeable about illegal substances, but perhaps it was something to do with his family business that he refused to talk about. However, if Ms. Gaia trusted him enough to gather these herbs, he was confident to trust him at least for the moment.

“Alright, that’s about it.” He gathered the last mushroom and placed the bundle in his coat pocket.

“I’ve got another patch over here!” Master Zoe called. “Let’s finish this up quickly and head to the next patch. With any luck, we’ll be out of here before night falls!”

“You heard the boss, gotta move fast in this line of work.”

Anthony helped Master Zoe and Jason gather more Ebony mushrooms until their jars practically filled to the brim. By the time they exited the mines in full gear the sun was already setting and Charlie was waiting patiently outside the office. He wanted to congratulate them personally for their first trip until Master Zoe reminded him of their current contaminated state. Upon removing their clothes, Master Zoe laid them down flat and started pouring water and sterilizing them with a heated light palm. When it was done, they set them aside and started a similar process for themselves. It was a familiar feeling that Anthony had seen when Master Zoe had prepared for operating. With their clothes properly cleaned, now it was time for preparing their crops.

“Now, comes the tricky part.” Master Zoe said before putting on another set of gloves and bringing out a small knife for cutting. “Ordinarily, if we wished to preserve these shrooms I would have Clio remove the moisture in the same way that Wind Mages use the Siphoning technique to remove moisture. However, given what we know now I want to see what you can do about this Mister Anthony?”

“M-me?” Anthony was surprised to hear this.

“Yes, why do you think I brought you here instead of her? She’s already done this many times before. It first starts as gathering water from a source, either the stream, pond or puddle. In the third circle it expands on bodies such as stomach, plants, even lumbers, essentially siphoning in the same manner as Wind Mages. All you have to do is draw the water out of the mushrooms to reduce them to a dehydrated state.”

“You’ve been zapping him for a few days now and he hasn’t shown any progress and you’re expecting him to do this on the spot?” Jason was critical of Master Zoe’s high expectations. “That’s like asking someone to get a hammer and crap out nails.”

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it was possible Mr. Tilt.” Zoe said with a smile on her face. “I’m not asking you to be a Water Mage Bios, I’m asking you to try to believe that you can...”

“...turn a reflex into a controlled response, I remember.” He remembered the phrase by heart by the number of times he had heard it since he began training with Master Zoe.

He didn’t know if or how he was going to do it, but Anthon began to breathe softly as he opened the first jar of black mushrooms from the case. He tried to imagine Water Mages and how they pulled water from the stream, and then tried to imagine the mushroom as a tiny puddle. At the same time, a sudden image appeared in his head as a dark void began to draw the water toward him. It drew closer as deep breaths from his lungs could draw air, he could almost feel the water particles reaching his nostrils. A sweet bitter aroma filled his nostrils, until he realized that something was not right.

“Wait!” Master Zoe called as Anthony took a deep and strong inhale.

Tilt and Zoe watched as the vapors of the watery mushroom were quickly consumed by Anthony up his nostrils and mouth like sucking out its very essence. As black ebony liquid ran though his body absorbing it supernaturally he suddenly felt a heart racing and his mind jolted as he felt the effects of concentrated Ebony Fungus water into his body. He collapsed on the ground and started shaking and convulsing as Master Zoe held up his head and tried to gain his attention.

“Bios! Stay with me, Bios!” Master Zoe.

“It’s Ebonic Poisoning.” Tilt joined Master Zoe in attending his friend. “I’ve seen it before, with bad batches of Black Cider, we need to counter it with alcohol, fast!”

“Charlie keeps a stash in his office, go quickly!” Jason bolted to the main office while Master Zoe tended to him.

She had wanted him to expand his powers but never imagined he would absorb it in such a fashion. This type of technique was common among fifth circle water mages who could draw condense water particles directly into their stomach. However, she never would have guessed he would advance so quickly. As she waited, she could only hope that Jason would arrive quickly with the remedy needed.